


Stray

by Expressive Dissonance (quietncryptic)



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-23
Updated: 2014-01-17
Packaged: 2017-12-06 04:56:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/731674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quietncryptic/pseuds/Expressive%20Dissonance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waking up to a naked, indignant blond sporting kitty ears and a tail in the middle of the night had definitely not been on Zack's Monday night itinerary. ZC</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mondays Suck

It was raining outside in a steady, pounding downpour guaranteed to soak even the most well protected souls.

The small blond kitten caught in the downpour miserably mewled as he determinedly slunk his waterlogged form into the shelter of a stacked pile of trash bins. It was miniscule protection, but sufficient enough to keep him from drowning if he happened to look up.

'Great,' it thought sourly. 'If only I wasn't stuck like this…'

Wearily, the kitten curled himself into a tight ball, ignoring the distracting growl of his stomach as it begged for some form of sustenance.

...

* * *

Mondays totally sucked.

Of course, Zack being Zack, this undeniable fact didn't bother him much since he was determined to be as cheerful as possible, no matter what was going on in his life. In fact, his cheerful whistling even managed to cut through the sound of the rain and clearly echo in the alleyway as he carefully juggled his umbrella and bags in order to close up the shop, his young Uncle's harsh words of warning echoing in his head.

" _Against my better judgment, I'm going to trust you to run the weapon shop on your own today," the larger man had said, sternly crossing his arms. "Goddess forbid it, but if you forget to lock up again and our store gets robbed…" The threat didn't even need to be finished, Zack and he both knew that he'd make Zack scrub every inch of the large building,_ including _the not-so-savory porn shop next door owned by his volatile business partner, Genesis Rhapsodos._

" _Aye, aye, Boss," Zack had replied readily enough._

Despite his easy answer, he knew that Angeal needed this vacation and he didn't want a thing to go wrong in his Uncle's absence while he managed to drag his business partner and best friend off to a weekend retreat somewhere in the hopes of "spending some well-needed alone time" with him. Zack had almost snorted aloud when the older man had told him that, and had just barely refrained from asking, "Don't you mean time to fuck each other's brains out?" The smug smirk on Genesis's face was telling enough as it was.

Distracted with his thoughts, Zack forgot to watch where he was going; as he turned to step forward, the industrial strength spokes of the umbrella caught on edge of the curved backlight frame, sending him lurching to the side and into a pile of old-fashioned metal trash cans in a glorious crash of epic proportions.

A startled hiss sounded from somewhere near the vicinity of his head as he blinked away the stars dancing in his vision.

"Shit," he groaned when he noticed the soaked state of his clothing after he'd propped himself up off the ground. Another plaintive mewl abruptly jerked his attention from himself to the cans he'd crashed into; a closer look had him raising his eyebrows in surprised bemusement.

Not three feet away from his head, a small, scruffy dirty tan kitten was warily peering at him from its spot wedged between the upended trash cans, its bright blue eyes seeming to bore holes right into his head; he could almost see a hint of disgust filling them as it gave a tiny, squirming wriggle as if testing how tightly it was stuck. Blinking, Zack stared for a minute at clear, intelligent blue eyes before stifling a laugh at the loud, demanding meow that was obviously directed at him for causing the whole incident in the first place.

"Okay, okay," he said sheepishly, reaching forward to carefully push the cans off the offended creature. "Sorry I'm so clumsy, but I didn't do it on purpose, y'know."

Despite his gentleness, an aggravated hiss met his ears, and he sharply watched the kitten for any sign of malice; his caution was met with a miserable glare and a hastily tucked away paw. Realization hit Zack with all the force of a bullet at the speed of light.

"Damn," he berated himself. "I hurt ya, didn't I little guy? I'm such an idiot!"

He made an odd high pitched clicking noise he'd often heard people use to call cats and other animals, but the tiny thing before him merely stared at him…kinda incredulously, with its head cocked and one eye lowered as if it were trying to raise its small, fuzzy eyebrows or something. Weird.

Careful not to startle it, Zack reached his hand out, alert for any sign of hostility or fear, but the bedraggled kitten just stared at him with those confused blue eyes and let him touch its scraggly fur before it gave a haughty huff and ducked its head a bit to begin licking its injured paw, one eye rolled warily up at him as if waiting for him to attack or invade its space.

Zack reached for the fallen umbrella and hastily snapped it open to cover both of their heads. "There now, isn't that better," he asked, smiling gently at his newest…friend? Victim? Who knew?

He held his hand out, eyes twinkling with life and vibrant color in the dim, gray atmosphere. "Well? You comin' along with Zack, little fella?" he cooed in that annoying way people tended to do with small furry creatures. "It'll be warm and dry and we'll get to keep each other company, y'know? Promise I don't bite."

Zack watched in puzzled amusement as it glanced between his hand and face for nearly a minute before giving a long huff—almost a sigh, really—and cautiously limped forward to grudgingly press its small, shivering body into his large, relatively warm hand. Before it could react, or get any more skittish, Zack scooped it up and cradled it against his chest, ignoring the startled yowl it gave him as he shushed it and stood. He was careful not to touch the injured limb, because let's face it, it was already a shitty enough day without adding getting clawed up by a pissed cat to the equation.

...

* * *

"See? That wasn't so bad, now was it?" the human asked, his cheerful grin widening as he released the tan-turned-gold kitten from the confines of the fluffy towel.

The indignant cat feebly shook its wild fur, knowing that it was useless, but trying all the same; oh how he wished for a brush right about now. Two days in this hell hole and the only thing he had to show for it was bath-roughened fur and this disgustingly cheerful human.

Who had picked him up and was now making cooing noises at him and bobbing a string in front of his face. As if he were a common house cat.

He gave the wild-haired one his most baleful stare, steadily ignoring the string, despite the cursed feline instincts urging him to bat at the enticing object and snatch it for himself. This would not do! One such as he shouldn't be subjected to such indignities, no matter how far from grace he'd fallen! Oooh, Sephiroth would pay for this.

Once he figured out how to stop this fool from trying to keep him. Like a godsdamned pet. He nearly growled at the thought, but settled for planning his revenge. The drow were a clever bunch and had managed to kick him out of his rightful place, but as soon as he replenished his reserves, it was going to be _war_. There would be _death_ , and resurrection for _more_ death, and he'd bind those four silver-haired bastards and turn them into Odin-damned mice and chase them and shake them until they squeaked for mercy and and—

"—so whaddya say, buddy? Wanna stay here with me? I'll take real good care of ya," the Hume boy-man promised, running his fingers soothingly through tussled blond fur. In spite of his current ire, the kitten found himself relaxing and allowing the contact, surprised that this human was so skilled with his hands. A rough, grating sound echoed around them, and he blinked in startlement when he realized that it was _him_ making those odd noises.

_Shit_ , he thought, narrowing his eyes on the human again. He had to keep himself alert, or this body would take over and get distracted by all kinds of unwanted instincts. Hairballs, helplessness, odd noises—he had not been _purring_ godsdamnit—but every single thing was only one more penalty added to the long list of offenses he'd return threefold once he got his paws on Sephiroth.

He sneezed as a finger poked his nose and rolled his eyes up to glare at the big oaf grinning down at him. "Well? I can't just go around calling you that cat, or kitty, now can I? So what'll I name you? Fred? Bob? Oh, I know! George!"

The cat reared back in alarm, his blue eyes wide as he stared at the crazy human. What sort of blasphemy was this? Those mundane names were nowhere the magnificence befitting one such as he! He growled in annoyance, gratified when the idiot human stuck his hands out in a pacifying gesture before nervously conceding, "Ok, ok…sheesh, just trying to help you know? Shiva, sometimes I think you know what I'm saying or something…"

_Because I_ do _, you fool._

He watched disinterestedly as the human settled in thought, occasionally firing off a name that was met with narrowed eyes or a disinterested huff. Bored, the kitten yawned and curled up on his lap, graciously allowing the big hand to stroke his fur into some semblance of order. It was rather nice when the Hume was quiet…at times like this, he could admit that he was rather attractive for a mortal and would look quite nice with the transparent veil of a consort on his person…or even bowing at his feet like a good little subject…

Sleep came easily then.

…


	2. Silly Mortals

The growling of his stomach was the first thing to alert him to the fact that something odd was going on. His nose immediately registered a delicious scent that could only be food, and his body informed him that he was missing the warm presence of the human male.

So he must have decided to cook for him them. Hopefully it would be a meal fit for a king. Or a prince. Royalty.

Whatever.

"Heyyy, little guy," the human's voice suddenly burst out, startling the cat from its lazy stretching.

"Whoa, whoa, hey!" the dark-haired man called out, holding out his hands in an amused gesture of peace when it narrowed its eyes and hissed in annoyance. "I was just comin' to tell you dinner's ready!"

The kitten eyeballed him. It was folly to trust a human...but this Hume in particular had been nothing but kind-if a little ditsy-to him. Not only that, but it was offering to feed him, which he admitted was a good thing, since he could not remember the last time he'd eaten a decent meal. Very well, he might as well accept the wild-haired one's hospitality. He straightened his tensed body and stiffly, almost grudgingly butted his head against the large hand that had lowered itself to try and pet him.

"I guess you really _are_ hungry," Zack said in amusement as the cat gave him pleading eyes and bumped against his hand. Carefully, he set the kitten onto the table and in front of the plate of warmed cat food that he'd run down to the store for.

"Well, eat up little guy! You're lucky the convenience store had this stuff so close to entrance or I would have given you something weird to eat."

To his surprise the cat sniffed lightly at the food before rearing back in alarm and once more giving him an affronted look. Zack had never had an animal make him feel guilty before, but this cat gave him the impression that he had done something gravely wrong.

"What's wrong, little guy? Too hot?" he asked worriedly, nudging the plate towards the cat. For his efforts, he earned a sliced thumb and a furious hiss as the cat turned its back on the offending cat food and sat down with its tail flicking in displeasure.

Zack stuck his thumb in his mouth. "Well, I guess that means you don't want it," he decided with a wince.

…

* * *

One decidedly smug kitten and disgruntled Zack later, and they were both seated at the table with yummy chicken; Zack's fried and the cat's finely chopped. After that, Zack decided that it was bed time, to which the cat had lowered its ears and stared at him with a look akin to horror on its face.

Eventually though, Zack had ended up cuddling the kitten (who was exceedingly reluctant, but strangely resigned) on the king size bed while the moonlight peeked through the clouds and lightly streamed through the blinds.

Disgraceful, was all the squirming kitten could think as Zack's large form curled around him. Here he was, a deposed prince laying up in some stranger's bed like a common housecat, while said stranger tried to strangle him in his sleep. It was preposterous and so offensive...

...and he was going to _explode_ if the wild haired one didn't _let him go this_ _ **instant**_!

As if hearing his thoughts, Zack opened his arms just enough and the cat slipped free of his stranglehold, its small form bristling in anger as it shot to the edge of the bed farthest away from the ebony haired jester that had practically kidnapped him.

Little did he know or realize, his small body had settled directly into the moonlight-which happened to be full.

There was a strange sensation of vertigo, as if he had blinked and suddenly things were _different_ ; it took him roughly five seconds to realize that he _had_ blinked, and things _had_ changed while he had performed the action.

For one thing, the wild haired one did not quite look as large as he had before. And the distance between them had shortened considerably-despite him having not moved a single inch. Alarmed, he tried to move, but his body felt oddly awkward and ungainly, and his spine was longer and bent at an unnatural angle.

"What the-" he said aloud, and was startled to realize that he had _spoken_! His normal, soft voice had come back after he'd gone ages having not heard it. Shocked, the cat turned man took in the sight of his humanoid hands and humanoid feet before giving a slow blink.

This was...definitely unexpected.

The blond man gave a positively feral smile before glancing once more at the slumbering black haired male. His baby blue eyes glittered oddly in the moonlight and he reached out with a small, pale hand-

And gave the sleeping Zack a harsh slap across the face.

Startled awake, the dazed man flailed in alarm before gazing wildly about the room. The wounded look on his face was replaced by that of shock as he took in the short, male, and decidedly _naked_ blond man currently glaring at him in from his spot on his bed.

Wait. Pause. Rewind.

Naked blond man. On his bed. _Naked_. In the middle of the night.

_Naked._

"What the fuck?" he cried, practically flipping off his bed is his haste to scramble away from the stranger. He fumbled behind himself for a weapon and closed his hand around the first object he could find. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded, brandishing a hefty sized boot.

The blond glared at him, and Zack had a distinct sense of surreality as he noticed the equally blond kitty cat ears that lowered angrily in response to his demand and pitiful threat. In his distraction, he failed to react as the crouched nude man pounced and pinned his distraught form with seemingly little effort.

"I," the blond began, his lips curled into a haughty sneer as he sat upon Zack's struggling form, "am Prince Cloudious the Second of Avalon, kingdom of the fey; not Fred, not Bob, and most certainly not _George_ ," the man hissed, and a blond tailed flicked in annoyance from behind his crouched form.

Zack looked from the tail to the man's head, his mouth gaped wide in disbelief as his whirling mind tried to place the implications into some semblance of order. It spluttered, died, and then promptly overloaded.

" _My cat is trying to rape me!_ " he hollered, just as his eyes rolled up and he slumped back onto the floor.

…


	3. Molestor Mine

" _Rape_ ," Cloud hissed in an affronted tone as he angrily paced in front of the currently-unconscious Zack Fair. "That peasant _wishes_ that I'd lower myself to bed him!"

Sharp blue eyes shot to the prone form lying on the bed, and a blond tail bristled once more in indignation.

"I hate mortals," Cloud decided, scratching at the worn robe he'd procured from the ebony haired male's bureau. His nose twitched at the subtly pleasant spicy aroma he was surrounded by before he stubbornly ignored it and reluctantly sat by the male's side to study his slumbering face.

It wasn't that the man looked _bad_...it was just that it was so _obvious_ that he was of common stock and had no glamour whatsoever to enhance his sexual appeal.

Cloud paused, eyes narrowing in contemplation. Did humans even _have_ glamour or magic? He'd heard tales of course, but surely witches and wizards were merely a myth.

He gave Zack a distasteful grimace. _This_ mortal certainly had no magic about him.

Not that the wild haired one needed much of it, he reluctantly admitted, poking curiously at a ripped bicep. The muscle twitched and Cloud watched in amusement as a rather perfectly shaped nose wrinkled in sleepy annoyance.

Still...for this mortal to assume such a dishonorable thing of him... the fey prince's glare returned, "He would be more than willing if I wanted him," he sneered, and began to give Zack's cheeks firm, just-this-side-of-painful pats.

Zack groaned and lightly raised his hands to try and fend off the stinging slaps to his face.

"Hey, _hey_!" he eventually spluttered, swiping the offending hands away. Frosty blue eyes met his own and his mouth dropped open in awe at the sight of beautiful blond hair framing an aristocratic face.

"Are you done fainting yet?" the other male said snottily. His very presence screamed " _brat!"_ to Zack, who furrowed his own face into an injured pout. "Or should I get the smelling salts, _woman_?"

" _What_?" Zack growled, abruptly sitting up. A brief twitch from the blond's head caught his attention and he stared blankly at the cat shaped ears pulled back defensively on top of blond hair. What the heck? Those couldn't be real! Maybe they were some kind of new robotic appendages?

Cloud narrowed his eyes before reaching his hand forward to snap his fingers in Zack's face. Did wonders ever cease? First the mortal had the nerve to try to adopt his feline form and now he was ignoring him when he was able to communicate with him?

"Well? Are you going to sit and stare like a fool all day or what?"

Zack twitched. "Who the hell are you again?" he paused, giving the blond's extra appendages a baleful stare. "And just _what_ the hell are you?"

" _Mortals_ ," Cloud scoffed, rolling his eyes and wrinkling his nose. "Are you deaf as well as annoying? I am Prince Cloudious the Second of Avalon, kingdom of the fey, and you are a lowly human with no concept of the things that I can do," the blond told him haughtily.

Zack stared.

And stared.

And stared some more.

Having had enough, Cloud clapped his hands in Zack's face once more, his cheeks reddening in anger at the lack of the proper respect and fanfare being given for his station. Either this mortal loved to insult him or he was losing his touch with his own natural authority. "Human!" he growled. "I need to know where I am at once!"

"...come again?" Zack asked, giving the indignant blond on his bed an incredulous look.

Sky blue eyes narrowed at him, and Zack found himself leaning away from the other male, who seemed to have no concept of personal space. " _Where are we_?" the blond bit out, his cute, little pink lips (what a thing to notice right now, of all times) lifted to show unnaturally sharp canines. "I cannot stay here like some _disgusting_ pet; I have a kingdom to run!"

"Pet," Zack echoed questioningly, but not even a second later, his eyes widened in understanding. "You _were_ my cat then!" he gasped, his large hands grasping Cloud's shoulders.

" _I am not your-_ "

"Why did you try to rape me?" Zack demanded, cutting the prince off sharply with a brief shake. "Because seriously, not cool man! Even freaky cat people need to ask before going off and molesting-"

"Imbecile!" Cloud shrieked, and jerked away from Zack, clenching his arms over the fabric of the gaping bathrobe.

He was fairly vibrating with indignation but Zack couldn't care less. He'd been molested in his home by some weird cat boy, so he damn well had a reason to be pissed off, too! So what if the guy's eyes looked pretty bright against the dark color of the robe he was huddled into-

Wait a minute. "Are you using _my_ bathrobe?"

The prince gave him a look that clearly insulted his intelligence. "Well, I can't very well go around in the nude, now, can I?"

"Oh," Zack said, suddenly at a loss for words. Answers, he decided. He should try and get some answers before he started to freak out. The thunderous expression on the blond's face was less than reassuring, though.

"We're in Midgar," he told him, absently scooting away to give them both some space.

"I am going to _destroy_ Sephiroth," Cloud growled after a moment of contemplation, and Zack shivered at the dark tone of promised violence.

That name, he thought. Why is that name so familiar? Sephiroth...

"Wait," he breathed. "You don't mean The Sephiroth, right? Tall, sexy guy, pretty green eyes and likes to wear leather?"

"You know him," the prince said suspiciously. "How?"

Zack gave Cloud a strange look. "Well, not only is the guy a famous model here, but he's also one of my Uncle's friends."

The prince abruptly invaded his space once more, eyes glinting with urgency as he clutched his clawed hands into Zack's pyjama shirt. "Tell me where to find him."

Zack felt his heartbeat flutter at the sudden proximity; whether it was from fear or something else, he didn't know just yet. "Uhh..."

Cloud shook the other male, his tail lashing with irritation. "Listen, mortal, that insufferable pest cursed me to look like this," he gestured angrily to his head and flicked his tail for good measure, "and I need him to change me back. Now tell me where I can find Sephiroth!"

"Look...Cloudilocks," the glare he received made him wince. "Er, Cloud. I'd be happy to help you out and get you off my hands but they're all the way out in some remote area without phones or anything technological doing the whole rugged, country boy thing. So until they come back, I have no way to get in contact with them."

Cold blue eyes stared intently into his own as if searching for any hint of a lie. The honesty in Zack's eyes never wavered, unfortunately, so the blond haired male snorted and released Zack's shirt. He sighed, ears flattening in displeasure. "Damn him," he whispered.

Uncomfortable, Zack watched the dejected prince as he huddled on the bed. It made for a sad sight, and despite the strange, pretty male's rude awakening and demeanor towards Zack, he felt pity stirring.

He tentatively reached out and touched the fair skinned male's shoulder. "Hey, uh, Cloud..." listless blue eyes glanced up to meet his own. "If you want, you can stay here with me until they get back, y'know."

The sheer disgust that crossed that almost feminine face was pretty insulting; it was so insulting, in fact, that Zack nearly retracted the offer. Luckily for the prince, he quickly gained control over his features.

"I suppose I have no choice," Cloud said reluctantly.

"Don't sound so thrilled," Zack muttered back.

Cloud just shot him a dirty look; the light of the rapidly lightening sky made his bright blue eyes gleam oddly in the darkness. "You should feel honored that— _meow_."

Zack blinked.

Cloud slapped a hand over his mouth in surprise before scowling and opening it to try once more. "I don't— _meow_."

A sudden " _poof"_ broke the silence of the room and Zack gaped as the blond male disappeared, leaving nothing but a pile of robes behind. After a moment, he reached out to grab them, only to jerk back warily as they began to shudder oddly.

A golden kitten popped its head from under the clothing, blue eyes wide with confusion, and stared at Zack accusingly as it freed itself from its prison.

"Well, fuck," Zack said.


	4. Truce

For a moment, all Zack can do is stare in startled puzzlement as the kitten he had 'rescued' earlier that night stared back at him from the open bundle of his favorite robe.

Then his brain kicks into gear.

Cat. Really a fairy prince. Transformed. Naked. Middle of the night. _Naked._

"Did I just have some sort of freaky wet dream?" he ponders aloud, scratching his wild, bushy mane in puzzlement. After all, that could only be the logical conclusion right? But what the hell did his cat have to do with it-

"Yeow!" he yelped as sharp claws dug harshly into his unclothed thigh. He glanced down into disgruntled blue eyes that were glaring pain and death at him. No way...there was seriously _no fucking way_ that his cat had really turned into a gorgeous male and practically tried to molest him last night.

"Cloud...?" he asked tentatively, staring at the kitten. His new pet gave a light huff and slowly, deliberately nodded its head.

"Oh my god," he breathed, staring at the cat in shock. "How did this...I don't..."

The kitten stared at him with narrowed blue eyes before giving a low grumble and swatting the obstructive clothing off of himself.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Zack asked with a frown. "I can't exactly speak kitty cat," he muttered.

Again, sharp nails pierced his thigh, causing him to wince.

"Ok, maybe I earned that one."

Cloud glared up at the human with silent fury. Damn it all! He'd gotten so close to finding answers and freeing himself from this poor excuse for a body! If only he'd been less stupefied and more forthcoming with answers, then Sephiroth would be begging for mercy at his feet by now!

He hissed.

"Ok, ok," the human said nervously as he carefully inched his thigh away from Cloud's claws. "Look, I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted. How's about we save the glaring and hurting for later?"

The glare on the kitten's face remained.

"Erm, ok..."

Now what? He had a pissed off prince with an attitude on his hands and no idea what to do with him. How'd he even get turned into a cat in the first place? Wait...wasn't that what he was talking about? He slapped a fist into his palm, startling Cloud into a flinch. The grin he flashed was only slightly sheepish.

"I've got it! How about we get some rest and tomorrow, I'll help you find Sephiroth and we can ask him to change you back?"

Were his ears deceiving him? Had Cloud heard right? Surely the human wasn't saying something that actually...made sense. And here he thought the boy was an ignorant fool with no potential whatsoever. Still...no need to give the airhead an even more inflated ego.

He nodded haughtily.

"Great! Let's settle in for the night then," he chirped. He was so happy with their agreement that he forgot that it was probably a bad idea to scoop the kitten up to his chest and cradle him there as he settled in to sleep.

Surprised, Cloud lie still in the human's arms, listening to the faint breaths steadily turn into deep, even breaths.

This human...

He wasn't quite sure if the feeling in his chest was just shock...or pleasure. At least he was warm and smelt good, the prince decided in resignation. He gave a brief glance up at the male snuggling him in sleep and huffed before turning himself into a proper sleeping position. After a moment, he realized that the steady thrum that he was feeling was sort of soothing, too.

"That tickles," the human muttered in his sleep, brushing his chin against Cloud's furry head.

Oh. Damn it all, he'd been _purring_.

Had he been in his normal form, Cloud was pretty certain that he'd be blushing.

Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all, he decided.

…

* * *

When Zack had said that he'd help Cloud find Sephiroth, the deposed prince had no idea it would be this _boring_. He had been prepared for tracking hounds, a chase, and maybe a little blood (oh how Sephiroth deserved to have his blood shed!) but not this quiet clicking away at a device while Zack squinted at a tiny mirror that showed lots of numbers and letters at random map locations.

From his spot on the computer desk, Cloud watched in boredom as Zack tried his best to recall from his uncle's records exactly where he and his friends were taking their vacation. He'd been at it for quite some time, seeing as he wasn't all too eager to have a weird prince stuck in a cat's body breathing down his neck for any longer than necessary.

Under the circumstances, he was certain that Angeal wouldn't mind him closing down the shop for a day or so to take care of this.

A fuzzy face popped up in front of his screen, completely obscuring it from view.

Zack blinked. The kitten was staring unblinkingly at the computer screen its striking blue eyes curious. Zack gave a slow grin before sliding the mouse just the slightest bit. To his amusement, Cloud startled; his golden head tilted as he tried to follow the rapidly moving white speck on the screen. After a moment of two of the impromptu chase, he gave a loud demanding meow and stuck both paws on the screen before bumping his nose against it. The sharp thunk of his head hitting the screen was only funny by the narrow-eyed affronted look he gave the monitor as if it was its fault that he'd hit his head so hard.

Zack couldn't help it, he chuckled, unintentionally breaking the spell Cloud's feline instincts had woven over him.

Having been caught indulging in less than princely behavior, Cloud could only sniff condescendingly at Zack as he laid himself across the keyboard, uncaring that it made the screen behind him emit funny sounds and caused the human to curse and sigh in exasperation. Good, let him suffer. It would serve him right for tricking Cloud into such unsavory behavior.

And if he had to concentrate to keep his tail from waving around like a white flag of surrender, it was most certainly _not_ because he was having fun, he thought stubbornly.

…


	5. Oh the Indignity!

Reason #1 that Cloud did not like cars:

They were horrible metal monstrosities that belched smoke and a foul smell from their rear and were controlled by humans into high speeds that no winged horse Cloud had ridden could ever hope to achieve. The seats were filled with scratched and torn leather and a fine layer of dust coated the floors. He had been loaded into a rusty, unstable bucket of a car by his host who had smiled and apologized for the piles of fast food bags and smelly clothing scattered about the floor.

"C'mon, Cloud," Zack coaxed, wincing as he tried his best to pry the kitten's sharp claws from his uncovered shoulder. "It's not gonna hurt you, just sit in this seat so I can drive properly." Feeling a bit sour, he wished that he'd thought to wear something other than a tank top, but the crappy air conditioning in his car made it simply easier to dress lightly.

Cloud hissed softly, his ears folded back as he stubbornly kept his tight grip on Zack's shoulder. He wasn't breaking the skin just yet, but his minutely tightening grip was getting closer and closer to doing just that.

Uncomfortable, Zack tried to ease the tiny claws off his skin only to give up once when the aggravated prince reacted by clutching tighter.

"Well, I guess you can ride up there until you're a bit more comfortable," Zack finally conceded in defeat after numerous failures at relinquishing Cloud's hold on his fragile person.

Reason #2 that Cloud did not like cars:

Zack, Cloud found, had the attention span of a very very tiny, very very ADHD inclined gnat. From what the prince could see, the humans had to control the metal beasts by holding onto a round wheel and making it turn in whatever direction they wished to go while pushing on odd pedals to make the beast speed up or slow down accordingly. The incredible pace they were moving at would dictate that Zack would pay attention to the path laid out before them in order to avoid any injury to them.

To his dismay, Zack did no such thing.

The wild-haired human would glance to and fro, his gaze flicking about the road and scenery like a child in a candy store, uncertain of where to settle their greedy gaze. It was making Cloud nervous watching so many things rush by them at such high velocity and Zack was simply treating it as if it were an everyday occurrence.

His hands kept roaming from their place on the beast's control wheel to tap and tinker with a strange dial that would lead to horrible ear splitting music filled with harsh beats and screaming men and women that Cloud could not for the life of him understand why Zack was enduring. In fact, his host was more than enduring, he was enjoying the horrible sounds and even singing along with them. Happily, loudly, and more than a bit off key.

Ok, make that very _very_ off key, he amended with a wince as the other male wailed the female part of one particular song.

Reason #3 that Cloud did not like cars:

He had to pee. Very very badly. And there was no hope of them stopping anytime soon. Unfortunately, as a cat, he had no way of telling Zack stop this death animal so that he could relieve himself.

Finally, he simply balanced himself on Zack's shoulder, ignoring the imbecile's surprised yelp, then launched himself into the back seat. Zack's scolding tone and words barely registered as he hid himself behind the driver's seat and discreetly did his business before climbing his way into the front passenger seat. When the human gave him a questioning stare, he merely returned his own innocent stare that mostly likely had the slightest hint of smugness to it.

What Zack didn't know wouldn't hurt him and would help Cloud keep his princely dignity after all.

...

* * *

When they reached their destination, Zack was not quite sure who was more relieved, himself or his fuzzy buddy. Cloud was a bundle of nerves with an attitude the size of Mount Nibel which hadn't done much for Zack's own nerves.

And now here the both of them were, standing in front of his uncle's cabin door. A quick glance down at the furry bundle in his arms showed Cloud staring back up him with an impatient stare. Clearly he had only one thing on his mind at this point.

He really wished the furry prince here was more grateful to him. Sourly, he knocked swiftly and loudly on the cabin's door hoping that no one would answer.

No such luck.

The door swung open rather abruptly and Zack looked up to find himself staring into the hypnotic green eyes of none other than Sephiroth himself.

The silver haired man took one look at the surprised visitors, took in Zack's scratched up shoulders and the growing ire on the small kitten's face and gave a very sharp, very brief smile.

"You're here to get me to fix the curse," he stated with blunt simplicity. His tone implied that it was not a guess.

Zack grinned in relief. This had been way easier than he'd thought. "Yeah, I came across him and-"

"No."

Both cat and human stared in utter shock at the abrupt denial. They each looked at one another before staring at Sephiroth who merely returned the look with his typical stoicism.

"But uh, isn't he like a prince or something?" Zack finally spluttered, his hand reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

The taller male gave an offhand wave. "He can stand to be away for a bit, the kingdom practically runs itself. Besides, my _prince_ ," he said softly almost dangerously, "needs to learn a lesson in humility if he wishes to be a proper king."

The blond bundle in Zack's arms abruptly launched itself at Sephiroth with a furious yowl, only to be caught in the tall male's hands easily. Blue eyes glared death and pain at the green eyed male, who merely held Cloud's squirming body in his hands without effort.

After a few minutes of Zack staring at the spectacle and Sephiroth smirking at the rapidly tiring kitten, the silver haired man lifted Cloud by the scruff of the neck and brought him to eye level.

"My prince," the man began smoothly, "kindly stop being a fucking brat and I'll explain how you can be changed back," he said firmly.

Shocked, Cloud paused, his blue eyes wide and startled as he gazed up into Sephiroth's impassive face. Seeing that he had his attention, the silver haired man abruptly turned and carried the kitten off leaving Zack to scurry off after them in interest. He didn't know what the hell all this was about, but he couldn't miss an opportunity to learn more about this whole mess.

…


	6. Cryptic Fairies with Pretty Hair Suck!

"Tea?" Sephiroth asked airily once he'd plunked Cloud's dangling form down onto the kitchen table.

Zack wasn't quite sure what to make of the strange silver haired male currently waiting for his answer, so the dark haired male simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, I guess."

Unperturbed by his uncertainty, Sephiroth began setting a kettle and cups out for tea, his movements calm and natural, as if he'd done this simple act a thousand times before. The way the older male moved was like watching poetry in motion to Zack and he couldn't help but stare in fascinated rapture as the light hit Sephiroth's hair and eyes in just the right way, making him seem as radiant as a star and just as untouchable.

Cloud caught the starstruck expression that covered his escort's face and made a low sound of irritation. He sent a meaningful glance in Sephiroth's direction, but the silver haired male merely raised an eyebrow at the kitten and ignored his prince's displeased glare. He turned back to Zack, who he was well aware was staring at him like a dying man given a glimpse of paradise itself.

Amused, Sephiroth considered the Fair man, whom he knew from Angeal's stories was often very impulsive and overeager, but overall kindhearted. A small smile slipped onto his face and Zack's own tan cheeks suddenly blossomed with red as his expression became dazed and unfocused.

Cloud, who Sephiroth had placed on the table, was now actively hissing at the silver haired male, his small form aggravated as he continued to bore his bright blue eyed stare into the side of Sephiroth's head.

For a moment, Sephiroth was confused, his green eyes narrowing in curiosity at the event taking place in front of him-then the source of the problem suddenly struck him. Slightly embarrassed at his lack of foresight, the fairy restrained himself and lightly cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry, I don't always remember my own strength at times," he apologized as Zack began slowly shaking his head like a swimmer coming out of water.

For a moment, Zack sat there blinking, his cobalt blue eyes confused as he finally began to register Cloud's agitated form and Sephiroth's contrite expression. "Ah-wha?" he said unintelligibly.

Green eyes with odd cat like pupils stared at the dark haired male, but unlike a few minutes ago, they no longer seemed infinitely beautiful and deep. Now they were just... _eyes_.

"My glamour is very powerful," Sephiroth said calmly, as he began filling their cups with tea. "It was not my intention to ensnare you, but I forgot to check myself in your presence," he informed the other male.

A low growl caught their attention and Zack looked down to see Cloud glaring at him, his blond tail flicking in irritation.

"What?" Zack asked, immediately defensive at the pointed look. Nevermind the fact that cats didn't talk, he just _knew_ that Cloud was implying something insulting by the magnitude of that look alone.

A sudden touch on his hand sent a shock of awareness racing through Zack's body, causing him to jerk away as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. One of Sephiroth's pale hands was raised in the air, a faint blue glow surrounding the fingers that had touched Zack's skin. His silver eyebrows rose nearly to his hairline, his green eyes a bit wider than before.

"What the heck was that?" Zack demanded as his body gave a shiver. Unconsciously, he rubbed his arms, which had suddenly broken out into goosebumps.

The surprised expression didn't last very long on the other male's face. A tiny smile crossed those thin lips and a brief spark of amusement crossed those slit pupiled eyes. "Well well, like calls to like, I suppose," Sephiroth said cryptically, before giving Cloud a long, thoughtful stare.

Cloud was already irritated. Not only was he being denied a proper explanation for what was going on, but he was also being toyed with by this pompous silver-haired know-it-all! The fact that he had obviously missed something that Sephiroth now knew only made it worse. He grumbled to himself, unaware of just how cute it sounded to the two males watching when it came out in his current body's voice.

After a moment, Sephiroth seemed to shake himself. The slight air of amusement and hesitance that had temporarily fallen over him immediately lifted as he regained his previously regal composure.

"Well, in any case I'm afraid I cannot turn our young prince here back until he has fully learned his lesson and understands how his behavior has become positively unacceptable as of late."

Zack widened his eyes and briefly exchanged a look with the kitten, who looked equally puzzled. "Uhh...what kind of lesson?"

"The he'll-have-to-figure-it-out-for-himself kind of lesson," Sephiroth elaborated, without really revealing anything at all. Those odd green eyes peered into Zack's own. "I would very much appreciate it if you could help our young prince discover what it is he's been doing wrong."

Zack grumbled a curse as he glanced at the oh-so angry eyes of the annoyed prince who had gotten him into this mess in the first place. "I thought as much," he said in resignation.

Judging by the hunched posture and drooping ears of the cat prince, he wasn't any happier about this than Zack was.

...


	7. The Vow

“So, what do we do now, Mr Grumpypants?” Zack groaned, as he slumped on his bed.

There was no answer of course. Cloud had been even quieter and more sullen than usual on the long ride back from their impromptu visit with Sephiroth. Not that Zack could blame him, though. It wasn't every day that royalty was denied something, let alone being told that they couldn’t have their own _body_ back.

Or maybe stuff like this was common for fairies. Zack cautioned a glance at the prince, who was slumped dejectedly on his side. The cat looked to be dozing peacefully but the dull glint of glazed blue eyes told a different story. Saying that Cloud was upset would be an understatement. Still, it had been a few hours since their little excursion to find Sephiroth and Zack had hurriedly ushered them back to the city before his uncle could return from wherever he’d been and scold Zack for abandoning the shop.

The young man let his head thump onto the bed’s covers with a dramatic sigh. God, the shit he got into without even trying! How was he going to explain all of this to Angeal when he got back?! This really sucked. Help a cat in need, and end up getting a bratty prince with an attitude problem in return.

A low sound from the end of the bed made Zack look over. The dark haired male caught sight of the little kitten’s sprawled form and gave a brief snort. “Now that I think about it,” he mused aloud, “what in the hell did you even do to deserve something like _this_ , Sir Prissypants?”

The unfriendly glare he received in return was entirely expected. Zack merely ignored it as he thought of what Cloud’s possible misconduct could have been.

“Maybe you were demanding the first born children of humans or making hordes of slaves lick your boots and call you ‘His Royal Sexiness’?” There was a low grumble at that as Zack teasingly nudged at the sullen prince with his foot. “Or maybe you were just an asshole to the wrong person,” he suddenly decided.

The high pitched mewl of disagreement made Zack wince in discomfort. “Ok, ok,” he soothed as he pulled his foot back. The look in Cloud’s eyes said that pain was imminent if Zack didn’t back off.

A smile crossed the black haired man's face. Before Cloud could act upon the sudden suspicion he felt, he found his small, furry body hoisted up and dangling above Zack, who held him straight up with his powerful arms. The deep, playful rumble of his host’s laughter made Cloud’s eyes widen in wonder—it wasn’t often that people were so happy around him, after all. 

“You know, you’re actually kind of cute when you’re not trying to claw my face off,” Zack half-joked.

Then the reality of his situation struck. The prince’s ears immediately settled flat upon his skull and he began to hiss and twist in Zack’s hold, trying his best to loosen the human’s already relaxed grip. Unfortunately, a squirmy kitten was no match for a fully grown human male and all too soon, Cloud was reduced to glaring, his small lungs huffing in exertion.

Zack twisted his lips up into a sarcastic smile. “Gee, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you weren’t too happy with me or something,” he said.

Cloud growled in response, his gaze distinctly unamused as he dangled helplessly in Zack’s grasp. After a moment though, he drooped in defeat, his stance entirely pathetic as he gave in to his body’s lack of threat. Zack’s face softened as he stared upward at the distressed prince. It was sort of mean of him to do this, but the prince was so uptight, there was no other way to get through to him than to have personal contact. Sephiroth had been subtle about it, but it was very clear that he expected Zack to help his royal bratiness.

“You can’t be all that bad,” the human murmured, his blue eyes oddly sympathetic. Outside his window, the barest hint of the moon began to surface from behind clouds. “Everyone has something about them that’s redeemable,” he added. “You just have to find what yours is. If you let me...I’ll help you. I promise.”

Moonlight shone through the window, painting both man and cat in its silvery glow. There was a sudden stillness in the air as both Cloud and Zack stared at one another, one with absolute sincerity, the other with hopeful suspicion. Both human and cat felt their breaths catch at the intensity of the moment.

A spark traveled up Zack’s hands, making him jump at the sudden flash of light. A loud popping sound broke the silence and then what had once been light weight balanced in his hands was suddenly much heavier as a two pound kitten became a hundred and twenty pounds of surprised man. Zack’s arms buckled and he left out a soft whump as all the air was driven from his lungs.

In the stunned moments afterward, Zack found himself blinking as a familiar face with familiar blond hair and blue eyes was suddenly suspended above him staring at him with a surprising intensity.

“Do me a favor,” Zack wheezed as he tried to catch his breath. ”Next time you feel that coming on, give me a warning, okay?”

“Do you really mean that?” came the prince’s voice. Despite its sharp tone, the barely detectable waver of... _longing_ behind it made the hairs on Zack’s arms stand at attention.

In his moment of distraction, Zack blinked at the question, his mind drawing a blank as to what the blond male was referring to. “Mean what?”

The intensity in Cloud’s eyes never lightened; if anything, the flash of annoyance beginning to creep over Cloud’s fine face only emphasized it. The way the naked blond was crouched over him was also making it slightly difficult to think.

“What you said about helping me,” Cloud elaborated (which Zack thought was rather gracious of him since he’d expected the smarmy prince to fly off the handle).

“Ooh,” he said feeling slightly stupid for not making the connection sooner. A smile overtook Zack’s confused expression. “Of course I meant it, I’ll do anything I can to help!”

For a second, Cloud merely stared at Zack, his piercing blue eyes narrowed as he scrutinized the other male. He seemed to be debating with himself about something, but after a long moment of deliberation, the tension in his posture seemed to drain and a faint smile spread across his aristocratic face.

Zack was stunned. This was the first genuine smile he’d gotten from Cloud and the feelings he got from having caused that smile to surface were beyond confusing.

A light brush of motion on his upper thigh broke his train of thought and Zack started a bit at the sensation. Cloud, who was perched on top of the dark haired man, felt the small jump and raised an elegant eyebrow in question.

A quick glance downward revealed his current source of agitation to be Cloud’s tail, which in his happiness had languidly curled itself under Zack’s knee and was lightly flicking against the sensitive skin underneath. A bright red flush spread across Zack’s face at the awkward positioning of the fuzzy appendage his body’s response to the ticklish sensation. 

Cloud himself had developed a scowl at his tail’s rogue movements and quickly jerked it away from Zack’s body. His face was only slightly red as he glanced away from the other male and muttered, “That was not my intention; I apologize.”

“No problem,” Zack’s voice came out in an embarrassingly high pitch. In the moment of awkward silence that followed, Zack pointedly cleared his throat. “As much as I’m enjoying this, don't you think it’s a good time for you to get off me and get some clothes on?”

“Clothes?” Cloud asked in disbelief. “and where would I get these garments? You’re an oaf compared to me,” he accused, giving Zack’s body a measuring look as he laid his hands upon Zack’s chest. “You have but to roll over and you’d crush me,” he said.

Wow. _Wow_. That was certainly unexpected, Zack thought as he felt his body jump to alertness at the prince’s touch. The sudden awareness of their...situation made Zack clear his voice once more, this time with more force. “Don’t worry. I’ve got some old stuff that you can fit in around here somewhere.”

—

“These garments are not befitting of a prince,” came the sulky response as Cloud walked at his host’s side. He had donned the clothing that Zack had managed to dig up for him; unfortunately, he was in no way happy or appreciative of them.

“You look fine,” Zack tried to sooth as he began to usher his guest down the street. And really, the sky blue hoody matched the prince’s eyes, and those skinny jeans...damn, Zack had quite a time trying to ignore the oddly hypnotic sway of Cloud’s cute little bu—erm, _tail_.

It was definitely the tail.

“Why are we even here,” the prince continued petulantly, unknowingly breaking Zack’s less than innocent train of thought.. “I don't see why you can't attend to me in the comfort of your home,”

Zack almost rolled his eyes. Almost. “Well, if we’re going to help you, we need to let you see how people live and act around one another. What better way than to let you hang out with some of my friends?”

“Why should I care about how humans act together? I’m pretty sure none of you weak creatures have the power to curse anyone.” Cloud protested with open disdain.

“And _that_ , Goldilocks, is exactly why you’re in the bind you’re in,” Zack muttered.

“What?” the prince asked sharply. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing!” Zack said defensively as he waved his hands before him.

Cloud kept his suspicious glare pinned to the side of Zack’s face, even though he was certain the human was either mocking him or trying to get one over on him.


End file.
